Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Kalanchoe blossfeldiana cultivar Country.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant, botanically known as Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Countryxe2x80x99.
The new Kalanchoe is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Odense, Denmark. The objective of the breeding program was to create new compact Kalanchoe cultivars with large and attractive flowers and good postproduction longevity.
The new Kalanchoe originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Odense, Denmark of a proprietary selection of Kalanchoe identified as code number 915/99-5, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Kalanchoe identified as code number 470/97-2, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Kalanchoe was discovered and selected by the Inventor within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Odense, Denmark during the spring of 2000. The selection of this plant was based on its compact plant habit and attractive flower color.
Asexual reproduction of the new Kalanchoe by terminal cuttings taken at Odense, Denmark, has shown that the unique features of this new Kalanchoe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Country has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Countryxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Countryxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Compact and upright plant habit.
2. Freely flowering habit.
3. Large red purple-colored flowers.
4. Dark green glossy leaves.
5. Good postproduction longevity.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe differ primarily from plants of the parent selections in flower color.
Plants of the new Kalanchoe can be compared to plants of the cultivar Cora, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,479. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Odense, Denmark, plants of the new Kalanchoe differed from plants of the cultivar Cora in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Kalanchoe had larger inflorescences than plants of the cultivar Cora.
2. Plants of the new Kalanchoe had larger flowers than plants of the cultivar Cora.
3. Flower color of plants of the new Kalanchoe was more uniform than flower color of plants of the cultivar Cora.